Snakes In The Nest
by Thunderclapped
Summary: Draco ran away and lived as Pettigrew did- an animal fugitive clinging to the outskirts of the wizarding world. And Harry Potter happens to be looking for a pet for Albus. Canon that Harry has kids, but noncanon that Draco has none. HPDM, past HPGW.
1. Prologue

**HI. MY HIATUS IS OVER. This story was supposed to be my submission to the HD Smoochfest on livejournal but the story was dropped because I was unable to make the deadline.. So, here it is! For all my HD readers, thanks for sticking by me. I really, really appreciate it. Loves to all of you!**

Draco raced through the Forbidden Forest, moving at a speed fast enough to deter any predators. He barely heard anything from the surroundings as his body slid through the dead leaves, smooth and uninterrupted as water.

"Draco, this isn't the grandest of places for a parting... But I love you. Never forget us, my Draco. Never forget your pride." His mother's words echoed in his ears as he streaked through the forest. He had Oblivated his parents with his mother's wand and left them a note, promising them that he was alive and well, though gone. He had then morphed into his Animagus form and vanished into the forest. Draco suppressed the memories and cleared his mind, concentrating on moving ahead. Life would be easier, so much easier, if he were to run away.

OoOoOo

The Dark Lord had a small unit of the youngest Death Eaters in training to become Animagi to infiltrate Wizarding society without being too conspicuous. Draco was the only one of the squad that had survived. He remembered the way Malcolm Baddock had died during one of the sessions. Malcolm had started twitching violently, dangerous red sparks running upwards from his feet up his back and disappearing into his neck; raised furrows slithered under his skin and Malcolm's eyes rolled back into his head. He had uttered a long, terrible scream before collapsing in a pile before The Dark Lord. There were tufts of golden-brown fur sticking out of random spots in his body, and Voldemort had sneered.

"This boy was further along in his transformation than any of you. Yet he was careless and did not listen to me. His death will be a lesson to the rest of you." Voldemort twitched his wand and Malcolm's body rolled over on its own, facing the sky. His nose was pink and strangely flattened: he had been turning into a Kneazle.

The subsequent lessons found Draco working harder than the rest of the squad. He had been thrilled when pure white scales broke out all over his skin like nails, covering his body in an impenetrable armour. His own gray eyes brightened to silver, and he remembered the hidden greed in The Dark Lord's red eyes as he urged Draco to try harder. When the first feathers broke through the top of his head and his body lengthened, arms melting into his torso and legs fusing together in fast-forward. He had raised his head and hissed in subjugation to The Dark Lord, bowing his head. Nagini, coiled around Lord Voldemort's shoulders, had hissed back spitefully. She slid off and spoke to him after Lord Voldemort's had left.

"You are nothing, young-snake. You have-not seen more than this place. You had better learn-more, to serve my master. Pellet-eater!"

Draco had raised his head proudly, striking green feathers held out stiffly like a mane around his head.

"I am an Ophionus, sister breed of Basilisks. I am a life-snake. Where the Basilisk brought death, I brought life." Nagini had then crushed his tail with her huge looping coils and left, leaving him in human form cursing Lord Voldemort's snake.

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><p><strong>Reviews, please! What did you think? :D sorry if I'm a bit rusty.<strong>


	2. in which Albus purchases his pet

**Chapter 2 is up! :D I'm on a roll here.**

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><p>"I don't want a cat or an owl. I want a snake." Albus' voice was firm. "James has an owl. Lily wants a cat. <em>I<em> want a snake." Harry smiled a little at his son's determination and threaded through the crowd with him, little Albus perched on his shoulders. Albus was six, all messy raven hair and too-bright green eyes that were solemn and thoughtful. Albus' fascination with snakes started when he was three, babbling away to a portrait of Anthea Weasley at The Burrow on Christmas Day. Anthea Weasley was Arthur's great-great-grandaunt five times removed, and she was an expert on magical animals. She was telling him of her travels around the world collecting ingredients for potions. In those days, the ingredient-gatherers were highly regarded, but were considered inappropriate jobs for women. When Anthea took to the sky, she was disowned. She learnt to speak Parseltongue, sneak the claws out of dragon feet and even how to shoe a unicorn properly. But most of all, what drew Albus in was her description of the reptiles all over the world. She spoke of them with such reverence that for the next few weeks, snakes were all he could talk about. Gradually, Anthea taught him Parseltongue.

"We're here!" Albus exclaimed. He dropped to the ground lightly when Harry let go, and dashed over to the snake cage somewhere in the back. Harry followed slowly, feeling the stares upon him. He saw Albus gazing longingly at a snake amongst the huge, looping coils behind the glass in colours ranging from brown to vivid crimson. He gasped. There was a pure white snake in the cage with clever silver eyes and a mane of brilliant emerald feathers. It was as thick as Albus' waist and nearly twice his height. The snake tilted its head at Albus and hissed, tongue flicking out thoughtfully. Albus turned to Harry, eyes round in wonder.

"It said hello. Can we buy him? _Please_?" The snake turned and looked at him too, and rose to its full height. It hissed shortly and raised the mane, feathers standing stiffly at attention. Before Albus could translate, the shop owner stood beside them.

"Harry Potter!" He cried incredulously. "You have found my most recent acquisition! It is an Ophionus, sister breed to the Basilisks. They were hunted to near-extinction in the early 1800's due to their highly magical mane feathers and scales. They are also thought to bring good luck wherever they go. Ancient records from China show…" Harry had zoned out. He only saw Albus hissing patiently to the snake and the snake replying. Harry could not remember his son showing so much enthusiasm for anything since Ginny left him. A smile curved his son's lips as the snake flicked its tongue at him, both obviously sharing a moment.

"I'll take it, thanks."

OoOoOo

"Oh, Harry, really. A snake?" Ginny heaved a sigh that was one part exasperation, three parts love. Albus beamed proudly and patted the head of the snake where it hung around Harry's neck (it was too heavy for Albus, and the snake reacted badly to the idea of a cage, according to Albus).

"When can_ I_ get my kitten?" Lily demanded, tugging on Harry's robes. She looked up at him, cinnamon-coloured eyes boring into his own. Harry set the snake down on the floor and it slithered away, hissing disdainfully as it went. Albus followed after it, and Harry picked Lily up.

"You're a little spitfire, Lils." She crossed her arms.

"Poppy says I'm a pip." Poppy Parkinson was in Lily's playgroup class, Pansy Parkinson's daughter. She had black curls, which Lily admired, and a snappy wit that kept the boys at bay. In turn, Poppy thought Lily clever and very pretty, and had sworn eternal friendship (solemnised over a little creek at the back of The Burrow on a sunny Saturday afternoon). Harry kissed his daughter's forehead.

"You can be both a pip and a spitfire, can't you?" Lily pondered his for a while.

"Okay," she agreed. James chose that moment to hurtle down the stairs, cursing.

"There's a bloody snake up there! And it hissed at Kludd!" Kludd was the name of the huge Tyto Alba owl that Harry had bought for James a year ago. Kludd reminded Harry of Hedwig, except male and slightly dangerous. Kludd flew down the stairs after James and perched on James' shoulder, giving a hoot that clearly said _I can pull my own weight here_.

"Jamie, the snake is Albus'." James' eyes goggled as he stared at his parents, before throwing up his arms and muttering "this family drives me batty" while walking away.

Lily jumped to the floor and took out the elastic band holding her hair in a ponytail, swishing out her shoulder-length red locks of which she was inordinately vain of. There were soft, occasional strands of golden in her hair, which gave it a more genteel air than the garish red of the other Weasleys'. She dashed up the stairs to look for Albus.

"Thanks for taking them for the weekend, Harry." Ginny said, patting his shoulder. Harry turned to her and smiled, shrugging.

"I don't mind."

"Well…" Ginny glanced at the clock. "I'll be late to meet Oliver." She tiptoed to kiss Harry's cheek. Harry felt his insides twist that Ginny had found someone else so quickly, that she readily left the family for the prospects of a brighter future. Then he remembered to be happy for her.

"Bye, Gin." She waved as she stepped into the fireplace, vanishing in a puff of green smoke. Harry slumped into the kitchen chair, and summoned a bottle of Ogden's from the fridge.

He took a slow sip and sighed.

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><p><strong>Okay i'll update a tiny bit slower after this XD<strong>


	3. Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes

**Thanks to all that added this story to your alerts! :D And I received a helpful tip from Anon, pointing out that Harry stays a Parseltongue even after the war, and that it is impossible for people to learn Parseltongue. Well… I drew inspiration for this story from other authors who wrote stories in which Parseltongue is able to be taught.**

**Also, I assumed that Harry lost the ability to speak Parseltongue after Voldemort's soul was detached from his because the Parseltongue-ness comes from Voldemort… I'm very sorry if you don't like non-canon! D: But I'm going to continue in the same vein, because I don't really want to deviate. I'm sorry! But I hope you'll continue reading the story despite the flaws :-)**

**And I'm sorry for the delay in posting this!**

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><p>"Hey, Harry! What's up? I haven't seen you in here for some time!" Ron greeted as Harry ducked into Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes from the rain, shaking the water from his robes. Harry smiled and took off his wet robe, spelling the water away.<p>

"Sorry, Ron. Kingsley refused to let me get away till I finished the paperwork. The mountain of red tape slapped on the Howards case is as big as the bloody Chamber of Secrets. How's George?"

"I'm fine; you could ask me instead of my assistant." George joked as he climbed down a stepladder leading to the apartment upstairs and brought out the large boxful of brand new products- _Enchanted Wizarding Wieners! Toys for lonely witches- any takers? Available in two sizes: Lockhart Large and Krum Kinda Kid-sized –_ to balance them on the counter. Ron yelped and covered his eyes at the image of Viktor Krum winking salaciously on the side of box, stroking a coral-pink dildo suggestively. Harry stared at the box then turned to George. Ron whimpered a tiny _"is it gone now?" _before ducking behind the counter and pretending to be busy.

"Are you really planning to sell that?" Harry asked faintly. "Kids come here every day."

"I'm putting it in the Adult section at the back. Say, speaking of kids, how have the kids been doing?" George asked, hefting the box nonchalantly as he made his way to the back, past a large violet velvet curtain. Harry followed, curious to see the adult section of the shop. He was assailed by rows and rows of boxes of adult toys and felt violated.

"They're fine… Uh, I just got Albus a snake as a pet. He likes it a lot. Jamie hates it, thinks it's out to eat Kludd." George chuckled as he dumped the box in between _Bertie Botts' Every Flavour Condoms_ and a box of vibrating beads. Harry felt his eyebrow twitch.

"So, you're here to collect your map? I'm more or less done with it. You just have to set your own riddle to lock it." Harry grinned. He had commissioned a map of the Potter household (an extensively remodelled Grimmauld Place- five whole months of Wizarding construction workers wandering in and out of the place, planks everywhere and loud curses as they met with the old charms and spells) based on the Marauders' Map. George had leapt into the task with fervour and declared that Fred would have loved cracking the enchantments on the Marauders' Map.

"That would be great." George and Harry went to the counter and George handed Harry a blank piece of parchment that looked slightly tatty and worn out with a large brown stain in the middle with _property of HJP_ in tiny cursive script in its upper left hand corner. Harry raised an eyebrow at George and pointed at the brown stain.

"I really hope that's tea." George shrugged.

"That was the general idea. You just tap it and say your riddle, it'll open. Once you set the riddle, you won't be able to change it. So I suggest you think about it first."

OoOoOoOo

"Albus really likes his snake," Poppy remarked. Lily giggled as she looked over to see Albus crooning to the snake in Parseltongue. They were all basking in the backyard of The Burrow under the supervision of Molly Weasley, who kept an eye on them while baking an apple pie with apples that James and Albus had scrumped from a nearby orchard.

"Yeah, he says it's clever. Al, could'ja come here?" Lily called. Albus turned and came over, the snake at his heels. Poppy petted its head politely and Lily tickled it under its chin.

"What'cha call me over for?"

"What's it say about me and Poppy?" Lily asked. Albus turned to the snake who gave a few short bursts of hisses and rested its head on Lily's knee. Albus smiled and pushed his hands deeper into his pockets rocking on his heels.

"He says Poppy looks like someone he's seen before."

"Well, what about me?" Lily demanded.

"He was laughing too hard for me to interpret." Lily snorted and turned away.

OoOoOoO

Draco could feel the full moon coming up in his muscles. He curled up in Albus' lap and closed his eyes, resting lazily in the late afternoon sun. He would have to change back to human form tonight to make sure that everything was fine with his human body. It was a ritual he had started back then in days he was living with his previous owner, Maeve. During the nights of the full moon, he would turn human and bask in the moonlight before turning back to a snake at dawn. Draco told himself that he did it only so that he would not turn out like Pettigrew- a filthy fat little man that had hardly taken care of his human appearance. But the real reason was vanity coupled with the gentle prod of nostalgia. It pleased Draco that his human physique was still attractive, though more slender than he would have liked.

"Thinking about something?" Albus asked. Draco shook his head.

"Enjoying the sun." Albus nodded and lay down on the grass, preparing to doze off. Draco watched the Potter brat and felt a twinge- if he hadn't gone into hiding, would he have had a son like that as well? Draco could imagine him in his mind, basing the image on Albus. His son would be pale and thin as well, though without Albus' knobbly knees. And he would name his son… Scorpius. Yes, that was a perfectly sensible Malfoy name. Scorpius would have Draco's own gray eyes, a gaze that would start out soft as eiderdown and over the years, learn how to harden to slate in appropriate circumstances. Somewhere above him, Albus hummed a soft tune that lilted and sloped, twisting out the elegant strains of a melody Draco was sure that Potter senior would never be able to pull off. Draco wondered if he should tell Albus his real form. He almost felt like he could trust Albus completely. This Potter brat, like Potter Senior in his younger years, had an air of utter trustworthiness and guile.

"Thank you, Albus." Albus sat up, startled. He looked at Draco.

"Why're you thanking me?"

"Because I feel like it, I suppose. Never let it be said that an Ophionus is an ungrateful animal." Albus grinned and pat his head gently, stroking his fingers through the mane of feathers.

"You're really weird," Albus commented. "Must be all those field mice you ate." Draco let it slide. After all, Albus was now his only friend.

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><p><strong>I'm sorry, this chapter was a real block! Haha. I'm working hard on my other stories. Maybe the next chapter will be better! Thanks for reading andor subscribing, please review!**


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